The Real Book: Sixth Edition

List Price: $29.95 Discount Price: $18.43

Customer Reviews:

HOLD ON....DON'T trash your volume 5 copy yet!!! [Posted on 2008-02-28]
Please read.... I'm glad that Hal Leonard has seen fit to correct many keys and chord changes with this 6th edition. I'm also glad the typeset is consistent and clear. HOWEVER, the reason for such a low score is what HL professes in it's advertising. Here is the quote from Hal Leonard in regard to the consistency of the older editions verses this new "legal" one...

"You won't even notice the difference, other than that all of the notorious errors have been fixed: the covers and typeface look the same, the song list is nearly identical...."

How can the song list be "nearly identical" when in fact 121 songs from the previous edition are GONE? To further make the book confusing to consumers, and presumably in an effort to make the book "look" as full as the previous edition, 86 new, unrelated tunes have been added as padding to the table of contents list.

What makes this an issue of concern is that of the 121 tunes missing are well-known, critical tunes that WILL be called on at gigs. Apparently a few of the copyright owners didn't see fit to jump on board the HL band wagon. I would have been fine with this book if it hadn't been passed off as being the same as the previous edition, but with corrections and the old list in tact.

If you REALLY want the best of both worlds, you'll have to buy the new HL version, and then add the missing tunes from the old one to the HL one (it's plastic comb bound, so that task can easy be done at Kinko's for close to nothing). I suppose the only issue beyond this would be the conflicting of keys and song form for some tunes if others musicians at your gig still operate out of the old edition.

This has been a real mess trying to decode the Real Book bottom line. As much of a multi-million dollar corporation Hal Leonard is, they could have saved us the hassle by disclosing these VERY CRUCIAL discrepancies up front.

The best way to get into jazz guitar [Posted on 2008-04-02]
i really like this book it is essential to all aspiring and accomplished jazz musicians

Accurate and easy [Posted on 2008-05-27]
I am very pleased with The Real Book, 6th edition. It is clearly formatted, the chords are all proper, and the song selection is diverse. This is a great book for newbies to jazz and seasoned six string vets as well. I would not hesitate to recommend it to either.

A Necessity for Jazz Musicians [Posted on 2008-06-02]
Put simply, if you want to play jazz, you need to know the tunes in this book. My guitar teachers have given mixed reviews of some of the arrangements of the tunes, but nonetheless, the Real Book is a must-have for any serious jazz musician.

as described [Posted on 2008-06-24]
It arrived in mint condition within two weeks even though I live in the EU.

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